Civil rights digital archive to be created through grant

University Libraries is one of three recipients of a nearly $500,000 grant to produce a prototype of a digital library collection focused on the Civil Rights Movement in the United States.

University Libraries, along with The Media Library of the WGBH Educational Foundation and the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute (BCRI), will share the $499,134 grant to develop broadband solutions to meet the challenge of matching rich media archives with educational needs.

“We expect that this will be the first of several grants to support the care and dissemination of materials on this important period in American history — the Civil Rights Movement,” said Shirley K. Baker, dean of University Libraries and vice chancellor for information technology.

Building on WGBH’s Teachers’ Domain online platform, this initiative will feature multimedia assets of all three organizations, highlighted by extensive oral histories recorded by BCRI, the encyclopedic resources of the Henry Hampton Collection housed within the Media and Film Archive at the University, and broadcasts and video programming at WGBH.

The final product will include primary source interviews, dramatic recreations, historical footage, supporting teacher guides and companion Web sites that will significantly extend its educational impact.


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